Blah Too Hot
by iluvaqt
Summary: Alternate Girls' Night Out Post Chapter 10. What if Max had gone straight home and Logan had followed her? Stuck in a small space together... recipe for romance or arguments?


**Blah...Too Hot**  
by iluvaqt

**Disclaimer:** I don't have ownership of any of these characters. They belong to their respective creators, including Cameron/Eglee Productions and 20th Century Fox Studios. No money is being made from the use of these characters. The story is written solely for Dark Angel fans.  
**Summary:** Slight spin off on 'Girls...' After the episode in Crash (which I think is about chapter ummm ten?), things took a different turn.  
**Spoilers/Timeframe:** Nup, none that I can think of. Could happen at any stage during season two. Just a humor fic.  
**Rating: **R (adult themes, mild sex scene)  
**iluvaqt's Note:** Sorry guys, but it's only a short. A fanfic challenge from Lawnmower. I found a new excuse to write another story. :D

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**it begins...**

Max couldn't face it. Not right now. So the freak heat attack was over, that was the least of her problems. What was she so scared of? _You don't want to see him keel over on you, that's what._

The dream she'd had earlier on in the day had scared her more then just a little. After seeing Sam, she'd gone home, she flopped down on the bed and just zoned out. Before she knew it, she had the worst fantasy of her life. It had started so great, not that she hadn't dreamt of sleeping with Logan before, but this had been new. They never made it to the bedroom, she'd had him behind his front door. After making love, he had carried her to his bed. When she'd woken up in her dream Logan had been lying beneath her, dying. Seeing Logan at Crash straight after her nightmare hadproved she wasn't ready to take a chance yet, cured or not. But when would she be? Maybe never.

Lumbering through the apartment door, she went straight for the stove. She could use a nice long hot bath. Something to take the dull ache way. It didn't matter that it was in her heart, not her limbs. Pulling out the largest pot she could find, she filled it almost to the brim and set it on the stove. Flicking on the burner, she waited for the flame to ignite. No gas, no hiss, no flame. What was going on? Turning the burner dial again she leaned closer, nope definitely no gas. "Just great. Fabulous. 'Mr Dickwad' decided to cut the gas this time." Budget moron. No hot water, a lot of the time no power, and now no gas. How did he think they were supposed to cook anything? Fine. Okay, so cold showers were a real drag but raw food? Ha, no way.

Fishing in her closet, she grabbed her lock pick set and headed out the front door. She was going to fix the problem. She desperately needed her hot bath tonight and she wasn't going without it.

Logan had left Crash soon after Max had disappeared. The look on Original Cindy's face had been enough to say that Max had offered a really lame excuse to leave. Not knowing exactly where he was going to find her or what he was going to say, he headed for her apartment. He was just about to start up the stairs when he noticed her disappear into the service stairwell. Keeping his distance, he followed her. Curious, he wondered why she was going to the basement at this time of night.

Max picked the lock and then turned around to look for something to jam the door open with. It was a partly rusted lock and worn down door, she didn't trust the spring, it could very well jam on her. She found an old newspaper and wedged a thick wad under the door. It'd hold and she wouldn't take long anyway. Treading carefully down the short narrow flight of stairs, she looked around for the gas main. It was a small basement and two doors lined the far end wall. There was a faint hissing coming from the one on the left and she walked toward it. Never heading any signs, 'Danger High Pressure', didn't even faze her.

Opening the door she was instantly hit with chilly blast of water. It was a small room, no bigger then a walk in closet. Walking to the back wall, she reached the pipe that was profusely spraying water in every direction. Clamping one hand over the burst, she reached with her free hand for the wheel to close the valve. In the commotion she didn't hear footstep approaching or see the shadow on the wall behind her.

"Max what..." His words died with a string of curses, as he slipped in the pool of water just inside the door. The catch holding the door open, slipped out and it shut with a bang, hitting him firmly on the back as it closed.

For a moment the tiny room rocked with the echo the heavy metal door had made. Logan looked up at Max from where he sat on the floor, his ass stung like hell but from the angry blaze in her eyes he knew it could hurt a lot worse.

"Do you realize what you just did?" she hissed. Her hands were still both occupied but when she was done, there was no way he was going to get away from a good ass kicking. Logan just sat there looking dazed. "That door only has one handle and it's on the outside."

Still sitting on the floor, Logan turned around and stared behind him. Sure enough his nose came face to face with the cold steel. He pushed on it, as if to make sure it wasn't shut. It didn't even creak. Oh that was just his luck. The door at the top of the stairs looked about to disintegrate and this door has to be as solid as a bank vault's.

"Get off your butt and come help me with this would you." Max was still clamping the freezing spray while trying to close the water valve. If only her arms were longer, she'd have no problem at all.

Logan got off the floor, took the wheel and turned. He kept turning and nothing happened. The water continued to spray and by now Max's jacket was beginning to look thoroughly drenched.

"It's not closing Max, I think the valve might be rusted out, the whole pipe doesn't look to be in very good shape." Logan looked her, the poor thing was soaked to the skin and her hair was damp with little moisture droplets. Despite their predicament, she looked more beautiful then ever.

For a moment, Max looked as if she didn't believe him and was about to just let go and try the wheel for herself. Instead, she unzipped her jacket with her free hand and slid it off her shoulders, switching hands on the pipe to free her arms. The wet mass dropped to the floor with messy slap, a pool of water already beginning to swell from it. She was shivering now, her clothes underneath we mostly dry except for the arms. They were darker then the rest of her shirt.

Without even thinking, Logan pulled off his boots and yanked off his socks. "I'll tie these on and when I slide it across you can let go and I'll tighten it."

He did it cautiously and slowly. It was so difficult to remember that even the slightest brush of her skin could be fatal for him. He gave her a sad but understanding look and for a moment he thought he noticed a flicker of guilt in her eyes. Why and whatever for he wondered, the virus wasn't her fault. He hated it when she thought that it was. Manticore was the bad guy not her. She wasn't to blame.

Logan slid the sock across and Max took her hand away. He pulled it tight and knotted it. Then tied his other one on top to secure it. It stopped the spray but Max knew in awhile it would be wet and the water would start leaking through. She only hoped that the pipe wasn't rusted through like she thought and it would hold until they got out of there. Because she didn't think socks would solve their problems if the whole pipe blew.

She looked around the small room, there were no windows, and it was no surprise to her considering they were in the basement. Solid cement walls, knocking against it she surmised them to be at least 6 inches thick. Except for the two vents on the opposite walls there wasn't much else. The door adorned one end wall, two metal racks on each of the opposite walls and the water pipe along the back wall.

Sitting on the floor wasn't an option since it was covered with water. Crawling between the shelves Max lay down on the bottom one. The rows on the metal rack weren't spaced to widely so it wasn't overly uncomfortable but she wouldn't want to lie on it for more then a couple hours. Logan stood to her right, from her position she could see the wet patch on his bottom and she stifled a giggle. It looked like he'd been sitting and hadn't made it to the toilet.

Logan glared at her for a second, he was about to make a wise crack about her present condition but a hissing sound stopped him. Max heard it too, it was loud and coming from the vent over her makeshift bunk. Climbing onto the top shelf, she peered through the gap in the grating. She got to see a furnace with blazing flames for a split second, before scalding steam shot through the grating. Ducking down, she covered her face with her arms. She shimmied backward quickly and then jumped down.

Logan was at her side before she could even blink. He was about to touch her out of concern and she immediately jumped away, putting a good couple of feet between them. She was hard up against the door and he was less then a foot from the back wall.

"I'm sorry Max, it's just I felt the steam from here, it was bad. I didn't think- I'm sorry." They both looked at each other in shock, he had been so close to touching her. He shook his head sadly and looked away.

Tears burned in her eyes and her arms stung a little, as did the back of her head. Logan stepped toward the shelf and slid onto it. He forced himself to fold his hands across his stomach and look relaxed. It was almost impossible, because he was far from it. He wanted nothing more than to go and pull her into his arms, find out if she was okay, and kiss her arms gently if they were hurting. But he couldn't, so he looked away.

Unconsciously, she tilted her pager and checked the time. 7:38.56 and counting. Just to be safe, after leaving Sam's, she'd stuck her pager to time out eight hours. She concluded that it aught to be enough time to annihilate a virus, or so she estimated. The doctor had said an hour but she thought she'd rather be safe and stick to eight. If she'd been really on the overzealous side she'd have waited forty-eight hours.

Out of the corner of his eye Logan was watching her movements. Again he noticed a guilty look cross her features, before she turned away from him and started pacing.

Max did what she always did when she felt helpless or nervous, she paced. Original Cindy hated it when she did that. Their apartment wasn't very big and considering it's beaten-down, rat-infested condition, Original Cindy was always spouting that with her pacing she'd wear a hole in the floor and fall through. This room was even smaller, it only took one and a half paces to reach each end. She took to shortening her strides, an action she did automatically.

"It'll be okay Max, if you stop pacing maybe things won't seem so bad." He didn't know how she was feeling, but he was starting to feel pretty under the weather. He'd never been good in the sauna, much less conditions like this. It was past humid, it felt like someone was sitting on his chest, it was so hard to breathe. "How often does anyone come down here?"

The question only served to further heighten her anxiety. Knowing their maintenace guy and his lazy ass, they'd be stuck in here for a month. It took him about that long to respond to a complaint, took him another two months to do anything about it, if he decided to do anything at all. They could die of dehydration before anyone found them, or worse they'd could die slowly and painfully of starvation.

The hissing overhead didn't stop and neither did the steam's intensity. The heat quickly booted up the air temperature and the water everywhere didn't help. Soon she couldn't keep up the pacing anymore, the air higher up was too thick to breathe in easily. She sat on the bottom shelf opposite Logan, her elbows on her knees. Since when did the apartment block have heating or hot water? Whatever the problem was next door, it was making her life at present more insufferable with each passing second.

Logan felt like he was drowning, the air was so heavy he could hardly breathe. He pulled off his suede jacket and tossed it to one side. The leather was going to be ruined and he'd probably never be able to wear it out again, not that it'd be a big problem if he died of suffocation first. Still feeling unbearably claustrophobic, he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it over his head. 

Max watched from where she sat. He was still in great shape. What was she thinking? He'd always been fit. His muscled arms gleamed in the fluorescent lights, making them look all the more desirable...lights? She looked up. Sure enough, the moisture had collected around the connections and white blue sparks spat briefly before the light blew. A curl of dark smoke hung around the light and the tubeblackened on each end. The room was totally dark now, save the dim glow from the furnace sending orange flickers across the ceiling.

A loud rumbling caused Logan to sit up suddenly and hit his head on the bunk above. He groaned turned on his side. Underestimatingthe distance from the edge, he accidentally rolled right off the shelf. He landed with the thud at Max's feet and as he went to get up, his right arm brushed her ankle. It was only the tiniest bit of contact but she felt it, fear raced through her blood and panic squeezed her heart.

Logan must have sensed her tense, but he didn't even realize what had happened. To him it was almost pitch black, he could only make out the shadow of her figure from where he was. The glow on the ceiling was nothing more then a reddish orange haze, offering very little light at all. The steam made it even more difficult to make out anything.

"What's wrong Max?" As he went to stand up, his knees shook a little. That was strange, he felt lightheaded and his balance seemed terribly out of whack. He reached out for something, anything to steady himself, but found nothing. He could feel the air shift, the motion of falling, then two strong hands grabbed him and a beeper sounded. Breaking the errie quiet.

Max helped Logan sit and minding his head, she pushed him back into a horizontal position. He seemed a little dazed so she hoped he wouldn't register what was going on. She switched off her pager quickly and sat down on the edge, just by him, but no longer touching.

Ironic, how she'd been forced to touch him at the same instance her time ran out. 'Her time' being the right terminology, considering Dr. Carr had said an hour was the sufficient requirement. She'd capped eight.She realized that Original Cindy was right. She was making excuses, excuses to keep Logan at a distance. What was she afraid of? Sure the virus was a very good reason but what if the cure did work? Looking down at him she could see there were no signs of fever, his skin was smooth and cool to her touch. Although, it was tinged a slight pink, much like her own. His breathing was deep and even and his eyelids flickered before opening and looking directly at her.

"You weren't going to tell me, were you?" he spoke accusingly, there was hurt in his voice and Max could see an angry spark in his eyes. "How long have you known?"

Max shifted to get up and he grabbed her wrist in a strong grip, stilling her movement. "I-I...I was." she stopped and bit her lip. She was going to tell him. Of course she would have. Original Cindy had knocked that much sense into her messed up head. She did owe Logan that much- the truth -she was going to tell him. When, she wasn't quite sure. "I haven't known that long. I got the cure today, it's only been effective a few hours-"

"A few hours! You were at Crash, I was talking to you and you didn't mention anything. Then you just left all of a sudden. Original Cindy said something to you didn't she?" he spat angrily. "Did she know too? Did everyone else know? What Max- someone else out there better for you?" He didn't ever what to picture it, didn't even what to think about it, but he knew it could be. She and Alec spent a lot of time together; they worked at the same place, hung out together, they were both X5s. He could think of a whole host of reasons why they would match. And well, being apart from her all the time gave him plenty of opportunity to brood over his theories.

Max tugged on her arm, trying to free herself. This wasn't how she'd anticipated things to go. This wasn't what she had been thinking. Turning back to him, she faced his accusing glare. "Original Cindy knew because she took me to see Sam. And no, nobody else knows. I was going to tell you Logan. I was just afraid...but Cindy said I should take the risk..." He released his grip and she got up, putting distance between them. "So much has changed Logan, maybe too much. We've changed, everything's so fucked up, and I didn't think that it'd make a difference anymore. Whether the virus was between us or not." Standing with her back to him, she could feel his eyes on her. She couldn't bear to face him anymore. Not with the look he had on his eyes, as though she had deliberately been trying to keep this from him.

Logan sat up carefully and ducked from under the shelf. He stood up and hugged her to him, he only held her loosely so if she wanted, she could pull away. When she stood in his arms, her frame fitting snuggly in his embrace, he knew he'd been stupid. She was so different, her experiences, the way she thought about things. It was why he loved her so much. Now he was punishing her for being the woman she was. She'd die before hurting him, her actions countless times had proven that. Why should he doubt her actions now? She had every right to be afraid to trust the cure, especially considering it came from Manticore too.

He smiled to himself with the knowledge she hadn't pulled away from him. Turning her slowly in his arms, he looked down into her eyes. Looking down at her, he spoke words to her that he never thought he would ever have the guts to speak. "There's only one angel in my night sky, only one star that captures my eye. Everyday I see her walking alone, what I wouldn't give to have her home. She's my heart that beats strong inside, but because she's gone it's like I died. I wish her to come back to me, so I can show her all that love can be. You my see angel, I need you with me. I need you with me, Max." he spoke those last words in a husky whisper, all the while never letting her break away from his searching gaze. "Nothing's changed for me, has it for you?" He studied her face intently, looking deep into her chocolate brown eyes. He didn't want to miss a single blink, frown or smile that might cross her features.

"No Logan, not really. I guess I was just afraid it might have. You know, with everything that's happened." She bowed her head, not having the energy to keep up with his probing anymore. She felt too exposed, too vulnerable with him staring into her like that. Was it just her or did the temperature just rise again? She felt as if her skin was tightening, clothing felt itchy and she knew she was sweating a little now too.

Logan gently brushed her full bottom lip with his pad of thumb, he traced her jawline to her chin and tilted her face upward to meet his eyes once more. Green eyes connected with clear brown ones and from that moment everything else around them dissolved. He brought his mouth down to hers and met it with a soft kiss, a declaration of love and hope, a gentle caressing that brought her into a world of mindless bliss. As she reached her hands up and wrapped them around his neck, he threaded his fingers into her hair cupping the back of her head and bringing their mouths into a more passionate fusion.

Logan's white t-shirt had pulled loose from his pants and Max let her fingers slip under the hem to touch the taut chords of his muscled back. Pulling back from her, for just a moment, Logan peeled off his shirt in one swift movement.

All of a sudden she felt as if her breathing was sounding a lot heavier than before. She took in his upper body, a flat toned abdomen and well muscled chest, sculpted arms and strong broad shoulders and all seeking appraisal from her eyes. Across his chest there was a dusting of light brown curls that lead in a downward trail around his navel and disappearing under the waistband of his pants. Max swallowed and shyly turned her eyes away. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a male body, but it was the first time that she'd been given such a nice look at Logan's.

"Your turn," he whispered cheekily, and he tugged at the bottom of her shirt and pulled upward slowly. Max lifted her arms and Logan took the material over her head. He had pulled her shirt and tank-top off together, she wasn't wearing a bra. "You're so beautiful."

Her skin was moist to his touch, a thin layer of perspiration bathed her silky soft skin and added a warm glow to her olive complexion. He captured her lips with his again and slid one arm around her waist to bring her closer. With his free arm, his hand snaked up to cup her left breast briefly before his thumb drew lazy circles around her nipple.

"Logan..." she moaned and kissed him harder then before, abruptly pushing him back toward the shelf.

Taking the shirts, Logan quickly laid them out flat in an effort to create a more comfortable surface. He bundled his jacket and used it as a makeshift pillow. They crawled into the space together, before snuggling into each other once more. They didn't need blankets, the temperature in the small room was beyond warm and the air was almost like a heavy coverlet anyway.

Max kissed the hollow of his neck before traveling down, placing little kisses on his chest. Sometimes sucking and taking little bites, all the while moving lower. She got to his navel before Logan's breathing was beginning to sound painful.

He reached down and pulled her back up to meet his gaze. "Do anymore of that and you won't be able to stop me." he rasped through clenched teeth.

"Stop you from doing what exactly?" she retorted, grinning down at him, wickedly. He smiled up at her and tickled her playfully in the waist. She jerked wildly and almost fell off the edge.

Logan pulled her close and waited for her jumpy nerves to still and her giggles to subside. He had no idea she was ticklish, it'd be something important to remember for future battles.

"Okay, I surrender."

Their eyes met, green ones and brown ones. He was searching for an answer, he wanted her to be sure. He had wanted it to be perfect but he'd never anticipated something like this happening.

"Yes, Logan," she said simply.

He didn't even ask and she'd given him the answer he wanted. He didn't need forever or her to promise to marry him. He'd give her all the time she needed for that. Just the acknowledgement he saw in her eyes now was enough. She needed him and maybe even loved him in her own way. She had said before that she'd never been in love. Maybe she didn't even know how it felt, but he'd show her.

"I wouldn't ever hurt you, Max. I promise."

The barriers between them disappeared, both the physical and emotional ones. Just for that moment, they were free. Free to express and share the love they had been waiting for so long to experience, and for that moment in time everything for both of them wasn't anything less then ethereal.

Later as she lay in his arms, her head on his chest, Logan felt moisture welling in his eyes. It was only now that he felt the cold uncomfortable steel bars poking into him. But for the woman curled up beside him, with one leg intertwined with his, the place or surface didn't matter to him. His butt would probably have lines imprinted in it for a week but it didn't bother him in the slightest. She was perfect, the single most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Everything about her was exquisitely fashioned; her eyes, luscious long dark lashes, thick curly mane of hair that hung to her shoulders, soft flawless skin, petite yet curvy figure. She also had the most gorgeous ass he'd ever laid hands on. He ran his hand over her back to her butt and squeezed playfully. She opened her eyes and grinned sleepily up at him, before giving him a sharp jab in the ribs.

"Don't go getting too comfortable," she grinned, as he smiled. He thought she'd been sleeping but she had been awake for awhile. She had just pretended to still be asleep so she could watch him, watching her. Resting on his heart she could hear every change in its rhythm and as his hand moved across her back she heard it pick up the pace. It was nice to feel so safe, happy. She'd not had a good restful sleep in a long time. Lying here with him she wondered if she there was hope for a life together with him.

Logan pulled on his pants again and offered Max hers. He had no idea what the time was, the last time he'd looked at his watch had been when he had left Crash. That had been around 9 p.m. He was about to take a look again when the door swung open.

A flashlight shone straight on them and Max ducked behind Logan for cover.

"Boo, do you have any idea what time it is? And what's the dealio with getting it on, in the janitor's closet?" Original Cindy tried to look stern with a mock frown, but the sight of Logan shirtless and Max half dressed in the basement, was just too hard to believe.

Looking at Original Cindy dressed in her night robe with fluffy bunny slippers and armed with a flashlight was funny to him. The whole situation was hilarious, Max and himself getting trapped in a closet, making love for the first time on a shelf. He tried to stop the laugh but he didn't quite manage it, it came out as a half chuckle-half snicker.

He got a swift kick in the ass, "Don't you start. I don't find this funny."

"Oh come on Max, it could have been worse, the service guy or a sector cop could have found us," he offered.

She'd managed to get her shirt on in the commotion and was swiftly collecting her things. "I would have been properly dressed by then. Here." She dropped his things in his arms and went to pick up his boots. "You might want to put these on, I hear that rats get hungry down here," she said that with a slight smirk of her own.

Logan hurriedly sat down and put his boots on, no sir-ee he wanted his toes in tact.

Just as soon as she'd appeared, Original Cindy seemed to have disappeared. Max knew her boo was giving her space. Her and her little discrete maneuvers. The crazy girl probably would like to take credit for the 'whole getting them together and finally gettin' busy' deal. Not that she cared, she was just happy that Logan still wanted her.

"Max-"

She turned to look back at him. Logan was fully dressed, not a thing out of place, an onlooker could be mistaken into thinking nothing at all had happened last night. It was 3.28 on her pager. But Max knew better, his hair was a little roughed up and slightly damp. Plus he was minus a pair of socks. She walked back to him and he instantly took her into his arms. Smiling up at him she asked, "You wanted me?"

He smiled back down at her. "You were sleeping before but I wanted to tell you, I love you, Max. I'll want you forever."

She smiled nervously through the tears that started to seep into her eyes. She bit her lip for a moment as she struggled with the words on the tip of her tongue. _It's easy Max, you know you feel it, and you know you want to say it._

"It's okay Max. I'm not asking for anything, just so you know that's all." He kissed her on the forehead before leaning down and kissing her gently. It didn't matter that she couldn't say it yet, he'd seen it all in her eyes. She couldn't hide anything from him there, the window to her soul, and the doorway to her heart. Maybe it was all he ever needed. It didn't matter, she was his Max and he loved her just the same.

'The End'


End file.
